One of the most beautiful vessels adorning the Mediterranean will be berthing in the Grand Harbour, probably on Wednesday.
She is called Zarina and is perhaps one of the most prestigious and elegant super yachts on display at the 49° Salone Internazionale della Nautica di Genova, or the Genoa boat show. And it carries a Maltese flag.
Undoubtedly, it is the most "marine" boat among a category of vessels, some of which are so excessively showy they veer towards bad taste and the violation of the most basic law of life at sea.
She is almost 107 feet long and 24 feet wide with a capacity of 4,000 gallons. She was designed and built in Taiwan by President Yachts. The company's workers followed the precise specifications of the Maltese owner who, according to Christer Lundquist of Eagle Marine, the Swedish society that represents the shipyard in Europe, contributed through his experience to the creation of space on the graceful vessel.
Zarina will leave Genoa as soon as the boat show wraps up on Sunday and, weather permitting, she should reach Malta in little over three days.
Once in Grand Harbour, the owner's guests will be able to enjoy the boat's interior conceptualised to guarantee conviviality and privacy. For obvious reasons, the profession of the Maltese owner has been kept secret by the men at Eagle Marine but, judging by the interior design - through the choice of furnishings and through the pictures of various locations on the Maltese archipelago - it was not difficult to perceive that Maltese "culture" forms an integral part of the vessel's style.
Apart from that, what is most striking is the refined thought in the allocation and projection of space for life on board with an excellent and spacious environment for the guests' cabins while the kitchen is at the centre of the boat.
TV monitors in the common areas have been excluded, almost religiously, as if to encourage socialisation and avoid the invasive presence of TV personalities.
Standing on board, one realises the wise handling of the manoeuvring area destined for the activities of the captain and his crew, which seem separate from those of the management and ownership of the yacht, as if to underline that the host and his guests are the only tenants on board.
The cost of this super yacht is estimated at about $7,900,000, a figure that is considered by the experts at Genoa as a very competitive price for a boat completely built of composite material and decked out with furnishings of high artisanship.
Like every year for almost 50 years now, the Genoa boat show tells of life on pleasure craft in the Mediterranean. Still, it is not exaggerated to sustain that the Zarina is one of the most beautiful vessels berthed at the quays of the boat show to then arrive in Malta. This is what I'd call elegant cruising with a taste of the Mediterranean Sea.